Sydney councils fear new datacentres could cause blackouts, block housing and affect locals’ health

In submissions to the NSW datacentre inquiry, several councils have raised concerns about health, environmental and amenity impacts on their communities as the industry rapidly expands. Photograph: Steven Markham/AAP View image in fullscreen In submissions to the NSW datacentre inquiry, several councils have raised concerns about health, environmental and amenity impacts on their communities as the industry rapidly expands. Photograph: Steven Markham/AAP Sydney councils fear new datacentres could cause blackouts, block housing and affect locals’ health Datacentres ‘directly competing’ with possible residential builds near public transport, one council tells NSW inquiry, amid growing concerns Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Datacentre developments are crowding out opportunities for housing and job-rich industries across Sydney, a New South Wales inquiry has heard, with one local council reporting a rise in blackouts linked to the industry’s expansion. Several Sydney councils, all facing an influx of datacentre developments, have raised concerns about the health, environmental and amenity impacts on their local communities in submissions to the state’s datacentre inquiry. Lane Cove Council, on Sydney’s northern shore, expressed “concern about brownouts and blackouts increasing in Lane Cove West since the expansion of datacentres”. The council said the noise generated by datacentres could also be “offensive and disruptive” for local residents and wildlife, and raised health concerns related to the industry’s use of back-up diesel generators. The City of Ryde, also in northern Sydney, said a cluster of twelve datacentres in Macquarie Park was “directly competing with opportunities for residential development in locations that offer strong public transport access”. Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email It said one proposed facility, on Lane Cove Road, was within walking distance of the Macquarie Park metro station, a site that could have accommodated new homes in a “well‑serviced, strategically located precinct”. Added pressure on local water supplies from datacentres was also delaying some already approved housing projects, council’s submission revealed, “because Sydney Water has been unable to meet the required water supply capacity”. Penrith city council urged the state government to pause further approvals until “utility servicing (water and power) impacts for NSW in both the short and long term are fully understood”. The Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils said the cumulative impact of noise, heat and emissions from datacentre clusters was rarely considered in approvals for individual projects. “At scale, these effects are significant, especially in heat-vulnerable communities in western Sydney. “Without coordinated planning, [datacentre] growth risks compounding existing pressures on electricity networks, water systems and local environments in western Sydney, and constraining services needed to